HP May Expand Its WebOS To Cars And Kitchen Appliances

HP is looking
to extend the reach of its webOS operating system – from your handheld
device to your kitchen counter. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal today,
Stephen DeWitt, the head
of webOS at HP, said he heard an "enormous amount of
interest" from potential clients, among them auto manufacturers
and makers of household appliances.

"We're looking at expanding the base and bringing to the webOS
community an ecosystem that inspires developers out there,"
DeWitt told the Journal. He did not offer details on
which companies HP had approached. So does HP have a shot at
expanding beyond the personal tech market? Some tech insiders
remain skeptical. "The automobile industry has no interest in
changing suppliers every year," Garnter analyst Thilo Koslowskitold the Journal.

Over at eWeek, Nathan Eddyagrees that HP will face an "uphill battle"
moving the webOS to other platforms. "HP is having enough trouble
trying to get consumers to experience webOS on devices other than
smartphones, including its highly publicized tablet, the TouchPad," Eddy notes, correctly.
"Despite a recent price cut, reports are coming in that sales of
the tablet – designed to be a major competitor to Apple's iPad – are flagging."

The TouchPad, which was released this summer to a tepid critical
reaction, has failed to elicit much excitement among consumers.
Horizons readers will remember that last week, in an attempt to
gin up sales, HP permanently dropped the price of its TouchPad tablet by a hundred bucks. From here on out, the 16
GB TouchPad will go for $399.99 and the 32 GB TouchPad will go
for $499.